Hemp taking off as viable product, and Colorado entrepreneurs are at the forefront of industry

Rianna Meyer doesn’t like talking about herself. When prompted, she ticks off a list of milestones: joining the Air Force, becoming a firefighting captain, finding her way to the Antarctic by way of Thailand. Her words tumble out with quick cadence, ready to talk about her latest adventure: hemp farming.

If she was a record, you would probably want to pick the needle up and play that first part over a few times. Yes, she lived in Antarctica and worked as a firefighter in one of the coldest places on Earth for five years.

Now, she is the vice president of operations for SanSal Wellness’ Veritas Farm in Pueblo. SanSal is an agribusiness wellness company that operates the Veritas Farm from their headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The farm grows and processes on-site hemp products that include medicinal oils, lip balm and gummies.